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machadinha
Not Your Guru Member
Registered: January 2005
Location: yörp
Posts: 11,089
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Mon April 21, 2008 1:23am
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I think in Rajasthan actually the ritual or as presented in this context doesn't refer to the concept of sati, but they commonly get confused.
The Rajasthani Rajput warrior classes had a tradition where in the face of defeat, the men would ride out to their death, while the women and children would commit collective suicide. They would indeed leave behind their handprints (often cast in gypsum or similar) to attest to the fact. There is a separate tradition of monuments left behind to famous women who have performed sati, probably mixed up with what we're talking about here. (They are called "sati stones.")
I think this is the ritual you're looking at here. Those paint or imprinted handprints are probably (or maybe not) of a much more recent date, but that's how they came about. To the extent that they are historic, they were left behind by those women before meeting their fate.
The Rajasthani custom was called *jauhar* btw. So the date you're referring to probably refers to the last occasion when jauhar was enacted at this location.
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Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike  : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links
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kristinm
Member
Registered: February 2007
Location: Beautiful Bondi (not Bundi!)
Posts: 1,524
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Mon April 21, 2008 4:17am
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No - this was definitely sati, well according to the the Maharao who told us the story himself, he later showed us paintings of these wives and the Maharao - there were 12 wives and it was either his great or great great grandfather, so not that far back...
In fact, I think Jauhar was only actually performed once or twice in Rajasthan, but you'd have to ask others, there was some discussion on another thread about it.. I was sure the audio tour of Jaisalmer fort mentioned it, but others said it didn't happen there.
Here, and in Jodhpur and at the Cenotaphs in Bundi - and with sati stones also, I was really interested in the veneration that women of today seem to offer these widows...I was wondering if there was a word for that, and a word for the woman who actually performed the sati.
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